Given that Dwayne Johnson has been attached to Black Adam in some capacity for well over a decade now, you’d be forgiven for taking every time the actor talked up the project with a huge pinch of salt. Given how long the pic seemed to be languishing in development hell, many people thought that the DC Comics adaptation may never even see the light of day.
However, in recent months, Black Adam has been picking up some serious steam, perhaps buoyed by the critical and commercial success that greeted the big screen debut of his arch-nemesis Shazam!, and earlier today, Johnson took to social media to announce an official release date for the movie, as well as provide us with a glimpse of some concept art showing him suited up in costume.
Whereas Zachary Levi’s Shazam! may have needed muscles built into the suit in order to convincingly play a superhero, Dwayne Johnson is hardly going to face similar problems. As arguably the biggest movie star in the world, the actor’s comic book film debut is huge news, and fans were quick to head online and offer their two cents on the official Black Adam announcement.
https://twitter.com/lilpoolish/status/1195048785329692676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1195048785329692676&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fdc%2F2019%2F11%2F14%2Fblack-adam-concept-art-the-rock-fan-reacts%2F
TAKE ALL MY MONEY NOW!!!
The Rock as Black Adam is gonna be amazing!!! #blackadam pic.twitter.com/eGvaFGhqDa
— Niko Exxtra (@nikoexxtra) November 14, 2019
Wow! So we will be getting #BlackAdam before the release of Shazam! 2… Very interesting pic.twitter.com/7iEzdGvaZ6
— Declan Mckinney (@DeclanMckinney) November 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheFliteCast/status/1195029083421315072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1195029083421315072&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fdc%2F2019%2F11%2F14%2Fblack-adam-concept-art-the-rock-fan-reacts%2F
https://twitter.com/UpToTASK/status/1195029721211269120
Sign. Me. Up. #BlackAdam pic.twitter.com/j2JiA8mom9
— Connor Behrens (@ConnorBehrens) November 14, 2019
Bruhhhh I’m here for this! #BlackAdam pic.twitter.com/KbKoPl1oEi
— Christian Mason (@CReelProduction) November 14, 2019
If Black Adam had been greenlit a few years ago, fans may have been worried given how disappointing the earliest installments of the DC Extended Universe turned out to be. Thanks to the likes of Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Aquaman and even Joker, though, the comic book company’s stock with audiences hasn’t been this high since the days of the Dark Knight Trilogy.
While the plan seems to be for Black Adam and Shazam! to cross paths eventually at some point down the line, Johnson’s superhero debut will focus primarily on the title character in an effort to establish him as a key player in the DCEU going forward. With Black Adam having been teased for so long, hopefully the finished product lives up to over a decade’s worth of hype.